Sigride Jenniska Asseko – Air Pollution in Gabon

Sigride Jenniska Asseko used her Slape Fellowship Award to conduct field research for her thesis focused on urban air quality in Gabon.

In the summer of 2016, Sigride traveled back to her home country to monitor urban air quality in three different cities. She was able to collect health data to examine the possible correlation between air pollution and incidences of respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Sigride gave presentations about her work to researchers and medical professionals during her trip allowing her to build connections which would otherwise not have been possible.

Receiving the Slape Fellowship was a big relief for Sigride as she no longer had to worry about the financial cost related to travel for her research. Sigride’s hope for the future is to conduct a longer air-quality study so she can make recommendations on better practices to reduce air pollution in Gabon.